$60 to see Hampton Games at Mucurapo

HAMPTON Athletic Club continue their advance planning for the 30th  edition of their Hamption International Games. Although the Games are scheduled to take place on May 1 and 2 at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo, invitations have gone out to several top world athletes. This year’s Games will be held in the honour of late Hampton president Hubert Francis who died in October last year, and is under the patronage of Sport and Youth Affairs Minister Roger Boynes. Following a recent meeting of the Games committee, it has been decided to charge an admission fee of $60 per day in the covered stand for adults, and $30 for youths under 16 years old.

But purchasers of advance tickets will pay $75 (adults) for both days of action, while youths pay $40 for the two days. Carloads of five persons will pay $300 for the weekend of athletics. Patrons to the uncovered stand will pay $20 per day (adults) and $10 for youths under 16. But it will cost adults just $30 for the two-day period, youths $15 and carloads of five $150, if tickets are bought in advance. Tickets go on sale at Raphael’s Investigators, Adjustors and Realtors Limited — 628-4776; Venture Credit Union Corporative Society Limited — 636-2910; or all branches Kenny’s Sports Centre. But despite their forward planning, the Hampton Games committee headed by chairman Rawle Raphael is still awaiting a reply from Minister Boynes concerning many aspect of the games. Raphael is persisting with his efforts to have the Games given Grand Prix status by the International Athletic Associations Federation (IAAF), and is calling on Government, through Boynes, for a $2 million subvention or soft loan annually for five years, a total of $10 million to attain the IAAF status.

Hampton have promised that should they receive the Government’s backing and get Grand Prix status, the money could be repaid within two years. Ex-Olympic 200 metres king, Jamaican Donald Quarrie is assisting Hampton in their effort to gain Grand Prix status before the year 2007. In the past Hampton AC have brought ex-world 100 metres record holder Maurice Greene, and fellow American sprint kings Olympic gold medallists Steve “Flash” Williams and Rey Robinson, gold medal hurdler Roger Kingdom, Emitt King and Jon Drummond to strut their stuff here. Elimination heats for local athletes have been scheduled for April 17 and 18, while April 30 has been set aside for Caribbean athletes to qualify. The Games will be officially launched with a fun run/walk around the Queen’s Park Savannah, Port-of-Spain on March 13, while the relays take place at the same venue on April 11.